Black Bonds, Annie and OITNB: How Film and TV Representation limits, liberates, and moulds PoC

In the wake of the Sony Leaks and the ‘Annie’ reboot starring Quvenzhané Wallis, the Black Bond debate, questions of representation have received renewed interest. A Sony executive expressed the desire that the phenomenal Idris Elba, the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated black actor known for his nuanced and brilliant performances be Daniel Craig’s successor. Much of the dissent, however, has come from people who fervently believe that Bond’s whiteness is somehow central to his character’s identity, and thus to recast him as black would be a gross act of cultural erasure.

White online commenters, such as those on the Mail Online, have once again shown a distinct lack of self-awareness. Bodies and faces like theirs have played the hero in movies for so long, that it is unimaginable to feel themselves thrust from the driver’s seat. It is false to suggest that the recasting of…